Apparatus for wood treatment



I April 19.50 R. G. RAMSEY ET AL 2,505,302

APPARATUS FOR WOOD TREATMENT Filed Oct. 26, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. G. RAMSEY ETAL APPARATUS FOR WOOD TREATMENT April 25, 1950 Filed Oct. 26, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 0.,L/9a z Z0 9 April 25, 1950 Filed Oct. 26, 1945 R. G. RAMSEY ET AL 2,505,302

APPARATUS FOR WOOD TREATMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 5, 1950 R. a. RAMSEY ETAL 2,505,302

APPARATUS FOR WOOD TREATMENT i fi amsey Oilflaz'ley Patented Apr. 25, 1950 APPARATUS "FOR; W 01:) TREATMENT Raymond G- il amsiex, Dr ver, Nae-an fl d n Bailey, vineland N. J., assignorsltoAmcrican Package :Corporation, Portsmouth, Va.

Application October 26, I 1 945; Serial N0.- 6245832 i1 'whiis invention nelates'ito i apparatus for Wreatingwood.

obj'eet 20f "this *lnventi-on is :to provide -'.an improvedzapparatusfor treating wood which indlude's a ipressure tank and a carriage which is movable into the tank, the" carriage'ibeingi formed with a -flat bottom wall and upwardly curved sidewalls; "The sidemwalls of the carriage include one iwa'll which is wider than J the'other and hasf the freezedge thereof spaced fromthe adiacentiubper edge of the other side wall, and which ulormed 'with an upwardly opening tncughfor collecting condensate.

t'lloethe ioregoinal biect;and others which may heteinaiiter more fully appear h invention consists of the novel ;construction, combination andtacnan em of parts, as wil be more aspeoifiGailly referred towand illustrated in the e cempanrmg drawings, but it is to be understoodthat chan es,yariationssand modifications may be resorted to which fall Within the scope of: the inyentionias claimed.

'In the idraw-i-ngsz -:;Flg;i1-re 1 is a-detail side elevation of wood treatin apparatus ';constructed according to an embodlmentiof this invention,

eiligucneqlis a longitudinal section .ofvthenpnese sure tank with the gauge mounted-therein,

Flgiiizewf-isla sectional view taken substantially onthe lineal-a3 ofliigure 2,

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 4 4: ofrFigure 12,;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan View of the telescoping track sections taken substantiallyon the line 55 of Figure 2, and

Figure 6 is airagmentaryvertical: section of the front portion of the carriage;

fie err ng t t e dra ng the numera dssi nat se erally a esu nk f rm d wi h wher zontalh dis osed c indrical side wali I l. a close mear nd wall 12 and a 'rem v l'eifr nt 3- -Th front Wall 13 includes a plurality i cumie en iall s aced apart loc in lu s l. whi hare adapted to be enga d L- shmed keepe s I5 carried by anvannular fiance manna iss ciired to theiront'end portionzof the side wall H. The front wall I3 is swingably supported by a piyotedarm structure I! which is pivotally mounted on apivot I8 carried-by ears I 31* extending, forwardly from the annulus; I 6.

The inner endportion of the armstructure l1 includes a bushing which loosely engages about a scum-r carried: bythe center of the front 5 Wall oreap ii. The pressuretank lll is supported posedzfimrspaced apartgrelation. The pressure tank l0 includes4a:steamziz'intake pipe it and a -3' Claim 1 21%65) valvefl l sarranged for drawing condensate with ualye 2.5 interposed hettveen Ithe valve 24 and the tank lill' so-" that condensate may be a readily drainedrfromthe tank or to prevent damage by freezing. :The tank lfl has 'a steam inlet pipe 26 extendingfrom the top thereOfand a pressurereauge 21' is mounted adjacent the inlet-pipe 26 in 'the top portion of the tank ll).

:mcarria'ge, generally'designated as "28, is: adapteditcr be rriemovably mounted: in the tank 1 i i). The carriage :28" includes a flat bottom wall 29 and upwarxllyiand inwardly curved side walls 3!! and 3 1. A rear end wall 32 closes the rear end of the carriage 1.28 whereas the" forward endof the carriagerzai is .topen'. Theside wall *Bll is substantially-shorterthan"the side wall 13l, the latter Wall extending over the vertical-center of the carriage land" terminating at. its free edge in .an upwardlyopenin-g itrough :33. The upper free edge 34 Of theSidG WaH S'U is rolled and is spaced from":the* trough 33. A connecting bar 35 is welded *or otherwise fixedly securedto the forward send? portions of the walls 30 and'Bl, :so'was t izpueventzspreadingor separating of these walls. The'espace between the 'upper edge Bit of the side wall Silvano. thedownwardly extending free edge o'f the sidewall-.31 formsa space'r36, which permitsvtliezrpositioning:of urea crystals on the upperilayersrofzthe wood; The carriage 28' includes atl -leasti two pairs 1 of wheels: 31, whicnare adaptedlztorengagezu'eshape'd track members 38 fixedlyusecure'd by brackets 'or' supportin members 3-9i withir'1sthe:pressure tanki H]. The flat bottom warms: forms awcondensate chamber-46 below-the carriagel281 within which-condensate may collect and'from-which the" condensate may be drained throughvopeningiof the drain valve 25' after'the steam' valve :26; has :been moved to closed position'.

The customary track members 38 at their forwar'd endszare formedrwith'outwardly flared. guide members il which 'are' U shaped in-transverse' section andsecuredas by weldingor the like; to: the' torward ends of the track members a 38:

and: which extend forwa'rdly' therefrom,-so as to align- -aupair of U-shaped track members 42 with thie -track members-'38; The track members '42 are secured to a movable' carriage, generally designated as 431 "The carriage 43 includes a frame -M having a pair-of wheels-45 adjacent one end thereof and: also having a caster wheel 46- at the opposite end'thereof. A substantially ring" shaped member-41' is secured to the forward end of 'the frame l l and provides a handle by means cr wman-the carriage 43*11123' be movedfrom supplyfiof wood toward'the pressure tank I0- and raway after treatment to plac'e where materialQ is used and thereby keeping the wood hot by the carriage, which is an essential part of the process. The carriage 43 has secured to the forward end portion of the bottom wall 29 thereof an angle member 49 which is formed with a horizontally disposed forwardly projecting flange 49. The angle member 48 and the flange 49 provide a reinforcing means for the forward end of the bottom wall 29. The carriage 43 has mounted in the tracks or rails 42, stop members 50 which limit the movement of the carriage 28 onto the carriage 43 when the carriage 28 is removed from the pressure tank Ill. The rails or tracks 38 also have stop members adjacent the inner ends thereof which are engaged by the innermost pair of wheels 31, so as to limit the inward movement of the carriage 29 into the pressure tank H).

The wood is placed in the wood treating carriage 28. The wood, if in strips is laid on the flat bottom 29 in layers which may be uneven, so as to provide spaces between the wood or wooden strips for circulation of heat and for the flowing of the solute urea together with the moisture of the wood which flows from the wood in the course of the treatment. After a layer of wood has been placed in the treatin carriage 28, urea crystals are distributed thereover, and then additional layers of wood are placed on top of the urea crystals. The procedure is continued until substantially the entire area of the treating carriage is filled with layers of wood and alternate layers of urea crystals with a layer of urea on the top layer of wood. Some of the layers of wood will be exposed as to their lengthwise edges through the space 36.

Additional urea crystals are concentrated near the ends of the wooden strips on each layer through the space 36 and also on top of the uppermost layer of the wood. This has the advantage of giving the ends of the wood a stronger urea treatment where it is generally most desirable as the wood ordinarily is most apt to split near or at the ends. The carriage 43 i moved toward the tank Ill so that the tracks 42 will engage the coupling members or guides 4| in order that the tracks will be held in alignment with the tracks 38. The wood treating carriage which is now filled with wood and which has the urea crystals on the interior thereof is moved inwardly of the pressure tank Ill. The end wall I3 is then closed and locked and steam heat is admitted through pipe 26. The steam is preferably dry steam, and under a pressure of from 60 to 150 pounds but less pressure can be used by giving the wood a longer period of treatment. During this time the temperature ranges from 292 degrees Fahrenheit to approximately 370 degrees Fahrenheit. The wood is subjected to the steam pressure for a period of from 40 to 75 minutes depending on the pressure of the steam. The heat will cause the urea crystals to dissolve and as the solution of the crystals is under pressure this solution will be forced into the pores and fibers of the wood so as to impregnate the wood.

Following the pressure treatment of the wood, the treating carriage 28 is removed from the pressure tank. The wood is kept hot in the treating carriage 28 by insulating or covering means of any suitable character to retain the heat in the wood until the wood is bent and used. The process hereinbefore described provides a means whereby the wood will more readily bend without checking or cracking and will more readily retain its bent form after it has cooled to normal room temperature.

A particular advantage of our process of treating wood with urea lies in the fact that we are able to obtain the fullest benefits and strongest concentration of urea in the pores of and throughout the Wood without soaking the wood and thus eliminating the disadvantages of discoloration and other troubles incident to soaking the wood.

The exact configuration illustrated is regarded as the optimum, but some of the desirable results inherent in this disclosure may be obtained by various slight modifications including some departure from the exact configuration shown, and

collecting the condensate forming on the in terior of the tank and preventing the entranceit is therefore requested that the scope of the invention should be regarded as limited only by the terms of the claims.

What we claim is:

1. In apparatus for treatment of wood including a tank having a closure at one end thereof,

a pair of horizontally disposed tracks in said tank, and an article supporting carriage engageable on said tracks, said carriage comprising a' flat bottom, an upwardly and inwardly curved side wall extending along one side edge of said bottom, an upwardly and inwardly curved sidewall extending along the other side edge of said bottom, said second side wall extending beyond the longitudinal median line of said bottom, the confronting longitudinal edges of said first and second side walls being spaced apart to define a longitudinally extending slot, and an end wall having the marginal edges thereof joined to the end edges of said side walls and said bottom closing one end of said carriage.

2. Apparatus for treatment of wood according to claim 1, wherein a connecting bar is fixed be-- tween said confronting longitudinal edges of said side walls at the ends thereof remote from said end wall.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upwardly opening trough is formed along the longitudinal edge of said second side wall for of such condensate through said longitudinal slot into said carriage.

RAYMOND G. RAMSEY.

OGDEN L. BAILEY.

7 REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES Berliner: Urea treatment of lumber, Mechanical Engineering, March 1942, pages 181-186.

Kobbe: "Indurating wood -with No. 6, June 1926, pages 354-356.

. sulphurfli Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, vol. 33, 

